Friday, August 14, 2015

What Has Thumbs But No Habeas Corpus? A Friday Monkey Dacker Post

What has thumbs and no habeas corpus entitlement? Chimpanzees. A Manhattan Supreme Court judge ruled Thursday that chimps are still viewed as property, not people, under the law.

The lawsuit was filed by the Nonhuman Rights Project, a group that wanted two research chimps — named Hercules and Leo — out of confinement.

I'm OK with letting them run free in New York.

NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reports "the animal rights group was trying to get them released to a sanctuary by arguing that the chimps have complex cognitive abilities and should be considered legal 'persons.' In the ruling, Justice Barbara Jaffe acknowledges that similarities between chimpanzees and humans 'inspire the empathy for a beloved pet.' "

The judge wrote that someday they may get legal rights, but that courts don't embrace change quickly. The chimps are held by Stony Brook University.

Presumably, one of their first right will be to marry the human of their choice.